fight what the people we were supporting. i agree if we could get them to support our common fight, but they're not a member of operation inherent resolve. they have other interests. in the long run, those images from aleppo will be around for years inspiring the very terrorists that congressman rohrabacher want to fight. >> it's 9:00. that's all the time we have. dana rohrabacher, thank you. a little different than the dana i served with. former ambassador michael mcfaul, thank you. and dr. evelyn farkas, thank you as well. >> that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. >> thanks so much. good morning, i'm stephanie ruhle. we have breaking news for you. donald trump, well, he makes it official. naming rex tillerson as his secretary of state. but his ties to russia are raising alarms among many. >> i'll use russia because i know russia really well because i worked there for many, many years.

>> even some republicans are concerned. as rick perry gets tapped to lead energy, a department he famously forgot he wanted to eliminate. >> commerce, education, and the -- what's the third one there? let's see. >> funny. plus, donald trump delays his big press conference about the future of his businesses. but he does tweet his companies will make no new deals while he is president. >> and an arctic blast. a brutal polar plunge sweeping across the nation. it is going to feel like minus 30 in parts of the midwest. so how low will temperatures go where you are? >> and it is in the jury's hands. the case everyone is talking about, did this woman fake these tears when told of her husband's murder. glrb >> i'm sorry to tell you, he's win killed. >> the cops made it all up. the husband was alive. they allege she had hired a hitman to murder him. now one of the most bizarre

cases ever finally comes to a verdict. >> we're going to begin today with questions surrounding donald trump and his choice for the next secretary of state, rex tillerson. just moments ago, vice president-elecmike pence talked about the pick outside of trump tower. >> we just couldn't be more grateful that someone of rex tillerson's proven leadership and accomplishment has been willing to step forward to serve our nation as our next secretary of state. >> we have a great team to talk it over this morning. i want to start with nbc's peter alexander at the white house. this is big news on rex tillerson. it wasn't just mike pence. donald trump is already out there trying to drum up support. condoleezza rice has weighed ip. what do we know? >> the bottom line is rex tillerson has risen thou the ranks at exxonmobil over the course of four decades, becoming the company's chairman and ceo. he's the first person nominated for secretary of state in recent history with no public sector

experience, but his work with exxon has sent him to dozens of countries where he built relationships with people from saudi arabia, yemen. that's the experience that trump says makes him qualified. trump tweeting, i have chosep one of the truly great business leaders of the world, rex tillerson. it's tillerson's deep ties to vladimir putin and russia that are certain to come under tough scrutiny. three years ago, putin honored him with the medf of friendship. it came after exxon won a contract to search for oil in parts of the russian-controlled arctic ocean. now, of course, he faces questions about his own business holdings and how he'll handle sanctions against putin. those are certain to come up in confirmation hearings going forward. >> all right, it is not all, as you say, his ties to vladimir putin. not all puppy dogs and rainbows in terms of enthusiasm for rex. you have even got republicans like john mccain and marco rubio who, yes, we know they're not donald trump enthusiasts. they don't seem to be too

pleased about rex tillerson. >> i think you're exactly right. tillerson doesn't have that much room for error in the senate where the republicans have 52 senators right now, only a two-vote advantage. he can only afford to lose a couple. several, as you noted, already expressing concerns. marco rubio this morning put out a statement that read in part, i have serious concerns about his nomination. the next secretary of state must be someone who views the world with moral clarity, is free of potential conflicts of interest. he goes on, but the bottom line is rubio punctuating a point he made even as tillerson's name was first floating, effectively saying someone who is a, quote, friend of vladimir is not the attribute i'm looking for in a secretary of state. >> i want to bring in msnbc political analyst rick tyler, and megan murphy. good morning. rick, i want to start with you. rex tillerson, specifically, how could his ties to vladimir putin and russia impact his ability to

get the job done as secretary of state? >> there's two things going on here. rex tillerson, i think, is a tremendous pick. his service at exxon goes back all the way for eight presidents. he's been in leadership in exxon since the reagan administration. he's well known. he has ties throughout the world. exxonmobil is a larger company than the state department itself. however, i think this begins to be emblematic of the problem the trump administration is going to have or the trump incoming administration in the transition with regard to russia. the interview with dana rohrabacher in the last hour is emblematic of the confusion. what is our vision toward russia. i don't think putin can be dealt with. he's not a friendly character. he's not our friend. but we are so tied with russia from hacking into the election, the administration's ties with russia. we still don't know what kind of investment, if any, or debt, that donald trump has because he won't release his tax reform.

now, we say we're fighting isis in syria. last time i checked, isis just took over another city, palmyra, and the russians and the syrian government is bombing its own people in aleppo. it is a mess. >> great point. megan, donald trump already this morning tweeting, the thing i like best about rex tillerson is he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments. here's thing, money and power are two different things. these are business relationships. in business, you can do business -- i like to make money. i like you to make money. that doesn't bother me. in power, only one person can have the power. won't it be very different for rex tillerson to have to face off against vladimir putin now? >> absolutely. i think the issue here is you can't have both. you can't be a great pick on one hand and be seen as an oil man and a business executive with all this expertise and what we're asking is what is the prism he looks through not just with russia, but someone who has long ties throughout the middle east, south america, et cetera. when he sets down with these

leaders, what is his position on what america's diplomatic face in the world is. we're talking about china, japan, encroachments in the south china sea. we really know nothing about his approach in a non-business sense. yes, that's what confirmation hearings are for, but the american people, donald trump has to set forward what he's expecting, what kind of skailt he's going to be, and what kind of position he's going to take forward. >> you think he gets confirmed? >> the issue when you talk to democrats is they really didn't want their battle to be over rex tillerson. they'll say, we wanted this to be an idealogical battle. now we have to square off in terms of business interests and deep ties to russia. this definitely isn't where they wanted to be and the stand they wanted to make. we're not just dealing with rex tillerson. we're looking at a cabinet chalk full of business executives and senior military figures. they kind of don't know where to go in terms of who to block. donald trump has once again presented them, he continues to

confound people with his choices, with his policy approach, and i essentially think he's pegged them into, we're going to have marco rubio lead this fight against rex tillerson? it's certainly a situation people don't know where they're going to make their stand. >> i want to stay on conflicts of interest. as you mentioned, it's not just russia. exxonmobil operates in 50 foreign countries, does a lot of business in the middle east. while rex tillerson could sell out of all of his shares of exxonmobil, exxon is deeply tied to his identity. it's the only job he's ever had, the only company he's ever worked for out of undergrad. this is this guy's family. >> i agree all this will come out in the confirmation hearings. he's going to have to impress the committee and the people who have to approve him that he's able to switch roles. just because you're a great baseball player doesn't mean you can't play football or the fact you can drive a car doesn't mean you can't drive a truck. i think he can shift, and he's going to have to demonstrate he can do that. i think the democrats have to be

careful here because rex tillerson probably knows far more about the world and world affairs and foreign policy than many of the people who will be asking him questions. >> rick, i'm not sure about your athletic ability, but if you can drive a car, i sure hope you can also drive a truck. >> not a tractor trailer. >> that's a great point. i'm not good at driving either. megan, i want to talk about donald trump's press conference, about his business ties. bloomberg broke it. he's not going to be having the press conference. we were all waiting for the big press conference. that ain't happening. it's going to be don jr. and eric, yes, we have heard donald trump say it before, he's not legally obligated, but come on now, are we dpog to look at this, a family that spends absolutely all of their personal and professional time together, are they really not going to dial up president-elect dad and say what do you want us to do? >> i think this presents -- yeah, that was the bloomberg scoop, so thanks for the shoutout. december 15th was going to be the date to explain what he's going to do, and these conflicts

are enmeshed in so many different ways across his business, across his empire, going from being the executive producer on "excellent apprentice" on down, and the biggest thing people are looking at, when we talk about kids and the future, what kind of walls are we going to put in there? donald trump tosses out words like it's a blind trust. none of those are true. none of those walls actually exist. no one actually know physical you look at the complex of just how he leases his aircraft or deals with real estate, multiple entities across tax entities. it's difficult to see where the money goes, who has it. to say i'm just going to give it to my kids, what is the wall there when his kids have been intimately involved in helping him fill the cabinet, the administration. >> i know we have to go, but do you actually think we're ever going to get the press conference or is it like the taxes. >> exactly what i was going to see, when we get the tax return, maybe we'll have the conference. he's the president-elect. you cannot run a

multi-billion -- maybe a multi-billion business empire and be the president-elect and have this going forward. >> megan murphy won't. i hope you're watching president-elect donald trump. megan murphy won't stand for it. thank you so much. next, another famous billionaire weighs in. richard branson is a passionate advocate for the environment. what does he think of the nomination of rex tillerson? what does it mean for planet earth? >> plus, brace yourself. it's going to be cold, really cold. temperatures as much as 30 degrees below normal, as the dreaded polar vortex officially comes. a post using the hashtag "#justrobbedthesafe" so, what are we supposed to think? switching to geico could save you a bunch of money on car insurance. excellent point. case dismissed.

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you're watching msnbc. president-elect trump's latest cabinet picks exxon ceo rex tillerson, and former texas

governor rick perry have a ristry of questioning climate change. tillerson told share holders exxon had not invested in renewable energy because, quote, we choose not to lose money on purpose. and perry said in 2011 that climate change is an unproven scientific theory. this all comes as bill gates will formally announce today a group of investing $1 billion into energy innovation to combat climate change. one of those participants in that initiative is joining me now via skype. the energy venture founder of the virgin group, sir richard branson. sir richard, good morning. irony, you could say. brutal timing. here you are launching energy ventures. how do you feel about that on a day when rex tillerson is nominated to be secretary of state, and rick perry is at the party? >> two things. first of all, if rex tillerson is indeed a climate denier, then

it's all the more reason for business to step up to the plate. what i'm actually hopeful is that he isn't a climate denier. he said not so long ago that the risks of climate change are very serious. and they do warrant action. and what we're hopeful for is that when he's no longer running exxonmobil and he's actually in a position of great authority in america, in government, that he will -- he will actually be able to do something about it. he obviously had a conflict of interest when he was at exxonmobil. but he is at least somebody who knows that climate change is serious and warrants action. and you know, we will obviously follow up with him and try to make sure that we can work with him in getting something done. >> how much harder, though, is

your fight against climate change if donald trump and his cabinet in the end are a group of people who question its validity to begin with? >> look, 190 countries at paris signed up to, and pledged, we would be carbon neutral by 2050. the world is working as one to get to carbon neutrality by 2050. we have to get to carbon neutrality by 2050. i can't believe that a majority of donald trump's cabinet denies what 99% of scientists show them as fact. and that is that the more carbon we're putting into the earth's atmosphere, the more damage we're ultimately going to do to this world. and i'm hoping, hopeful that rex tillerson, who knows more about this than anybody else in the cabinet, that he will stick by

the comments he's made in the past and educate the rest of his cabinet into the dangers of climate change and help business do something about it. the reason that we have launched these branches is myself, bill gates, jack morgan, jeff bezos, numerous business leaders, we know the world has a problem. we know we have to do something about it. we've got to come up with breakthrough technologies to make sure that we do get the world to carbon neutral by 2050. and we'll get on and do it. whatever, whichever way that the particular government in power at the time think. because, you know, the vast majority of people, the vast majority of business people know that something's got to be done.

>> some of the people who you mentioned, jeff bezos, for example, may be meeting with president-elect donald trump, who have said this is our president, we have to work with them. the last time you and i spoke, you were pretty negative on president-elect donald trump. have you changed your view in any way and can you work with him? >> i think it would be irresponsible not to spend the next six months, a year, working hard to try to make this administration work. and i hope that some of the things that were said on the campaign trail were electionearring and do not become reality. if some of those things become reality, i think, you know, the vast majority of business leaders in america and around the world will once again speak out with almost one voice in trying to do something about it. but i think right now, over the

next few months, let's see whether his policies are the same policies or whether they follow the rhetoric of the election campaign. >> just before we go, tell me about a reality you would like to see in 20 years. energy ventures has a 20-year duration. what do you want the world to look like then, realistically? >> well, look, one thing that even the climate deniers should realize is that there are millions of jobs to be created in clean energy. there are not millions of jobs to be created by opening coal mines. they're pretty unpleasant jobs. coal has done enormous damage. so i think even the trump administration, full of deniers, should help the likes of this organization we just set up and other elon musk and other people are trying to create literally hundreds of thousands of jobs in

a green world, and to green america and green the rest of the world. it makes business sense as well as being good for the world. >> i know i want to live in a green world. sir richard, thank you so much. congratulations on the announcement of energy ventures. >> we have a quick update for you from trump tower. this one is for you, i don't know, circus enthusiasts. moments ago, kanye west, that's right, yeezy, arrived, and went up the elevators at trump tower. we don't know why he's there. he didn't answer any questions as he walked in. the one and only kanye joining the mix. >> coming up, winter is officially more than a week away, but you wouldn't know it from the temperatures outside. how bad was arctic blast be and how long is it going to last? >> later, a woman refusing to leave a plane. she had to be dragged down the aisle and physically removed. i was working in the yard, my chest started hurting

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happening now, a polar vortex bringing bitter cold temperatures to the midwest and it's heading east. some parts of the country could see windchills drop as low as 40 below. ron mott joins us from the windy city, chicago. ron, i hope you have your long johns on. how bad is it out there? >> hey, steph. it's not too bad right now, although it's much colder than it was say an hour ago. we believe we have topped out in the low 20s today, and the temperature is going to fall, all the way down to about 5 degrees by tonight. as you mention, we're going to go even colder tomorrow into thursday, and then friday, thursday into friday, we're expecting the air temperature to fall below zero with very dangerous windchills. obviously, the word to all the folks around chicago and other parts near here, bundle up, dress in layers and stay indoors as much as you can because it is going to be a very dangerous situation here. and steph, on top of all that, we're expecting more snow. there's that system in the pacific northwest getting

organized and will make its way across 12 states or so before it wraps up, going into the weekend. we're pexpecting more snow in chicago. whatever snow that falls is probably going to be around a while because it's going to be so very cold on the ground here. >> getting organized, preparing to deliver pure chaos on the ground. thank you, ron. go inside. it's cold. >> i want to take you to meteorologist bill karins. bill, don't tell me. it's headed here next, isn't it? >> it's spreading tothe east. we're watching snow in the ohio valley. a fluffy inch. indianapolis, cincinnati, columbus, pittsburgh, an inch or two, and tonight, it will move through areas of new york. the cold is going to follow this mini snow event. here's the peak windchills. minneapolis, thursday, negative 26. green bay, nothing 24. chicago, negative 18 it will feel like thursday. indianapolis on thursday. the good news for areas to the south, it doesn't press too far to the south. it heads to the great lakes and

to the east. buffalo, negative one on friday. pittsburgh, negative 7 on friday. new york city even gets down to negative 5 for a windchill friday morning. stephanie, how about this? our friends up in maine could feel like negative 32 on friday morning. some of the coldest air on the entire planet will be over the top of maine come friday. >> negative 32. i don't want to hear that, bill. brutal. thank you. we have to take a break. next, donald trump delays his press conference aimed at clearing up questions about his ties to his company, but could his business leave him open to blackmail? a new report just out says it is a very rear possibility.

welcome back. i'm stephanie ruhle. you're watching msnbc. it's time now for your morning primer. everythingia need to know to get your day starts. we begin with the latest on the presidential transition. donald trump has picked exxon ceo rex tillerson for secretary of state. he could face a contentious

confirmation over his close ties to russia. >> according to unicef, more than 100 children are currently trapped under rubble after an all-out assault from pro-government forces, which is backed by russia, in their effort to retake the syrian city of aleppo. the u.n. human rights office also says it has received reports of pro-government forces killing at least 82 civilians. >> a love tonsa flight was deverted following a bomb threat. passengers were evacuated. plane was searched, nothing suspicious was found. >> aaron schock pled not guilty in court for using campaign money for personal use. he resigned after questioning for lavish spending to renovate his capitol hill office. >> and after nearly blowing a 20-point lead, the new england patriots beat the baltimore ravens 30-23. tom brady had an okay, that's not true, extraordinary game,

throwing for over 400 yards and a total of three touchdowns. way to go, mr. brady. all right, now we have to move on to donald trump. passing on his opportunity to clear up questions about his business ties, delaying a planned press conference until, quote, the near future. he now plans to hand things off to his sons, an apaernlt attempt to avoid conflicts of interest, but guess what? that's just part of the problem. according to newsweek, the president-elect is exposing himself to possible blackmail, even running the risk of impeachment. kirk eichenwald wrote the article. let's go big picture first. he's handing it off to don jr. and eric and says they're not going to do any new deals once he's president. what exactly does that mean? couldn't you make the argument, we were always talking to china, weef wr always talking to argentina. what does it mean, no new deals? it means nothing. you have a company that has openings all over the world, building all over the world. i mean, if you go through my

article, one of the things it points out is when you start the dominos of economic interactions, you know, the philippines is going to be extremely effected by what we do with china. well, the philippines, you have a major trump building. the president of that country has -- is a pretty brutal guy. and he's made a lot of promises that could be undermined depending on what we do with china. and so you already have that pressure point. you have pressure points all over the world, and the pressure is already starting to be exerted. it doesn't matter if it's the trump kids or not. i mean, the trump kids are going to be getting millions and millions of dollars, in certain instances, with the checks signed by people who are government agents. >> how about pressure donald doesn't have? donald trump doesn't have the pressure to answer questions because he's canceled his press

conference. what he does do is put out his message, basically, if you look at his twitter this morning, telling us what don jr. and eric are going to do. he's putting out a statement via fw twitter. we're absorbing it, talking about it, but we don't get a chance to ask him the questions, the pressure points you speak out, because he's not out there doing a press conference. do you think we're ever going to get one or is this the new normal? >> i have no idea. the responsibility of the media here is not to sit back and go, oh, well, he said they're not going to build anything more. who cares? the reality is, i mean, i wrote a story about his conflicts back in october, i think, that went country to country and talked about how bad they are. this story is about how he's already -- his family is already getting payments from a government agent from the philippines. they're already in a position where the president of turkey is taking actions that i have been told he is intending for the

purpose of essentially blackmailing the president of the united states to back an extradition of a turkish citizen in the united states. >> hold on a second. unpack this for me. walk me through exactly what's happening in turkey. >> what you have in turkey is a major -- when trump was on the phone with the turkish president erdogan, he said, oh, let me say great things about my business partner. which in and of itself was inappropriate. erdogan is not a fool. he's been trying to get somebody he considers a political enemy, a man in pennsylvania, to be extradited from the united states on ridiculous claims he was involved in a military coup in july. once trump offered up this, oh, this business is so important to me, within a couple of weeks, erdogan runs around and has a

senior executive with that organization, with that business partner of trump's, arrested. and at this point, and what i have been told from people who are dealing directly with erdogan's staff and administration, that he believes the more pressure he puts on that company, the higher the probability that he will get an extradition of mr. goulan from pennsylvania. you're talking about a situation where the buildings there, the partnership is there. you can't make it go away. you've got the president of turkey, whether he's right or not, acting where his actions on the foreign stage, on the domestic stage, are being dictated by what he believes he can do to donald trump by

hitting at his family business. >> kurt, you have done, just to your point, extraordinary, extensive reporting on all of this for months. and donald trump won. he's the next president of the united states. despite all of that reporting, all of the conflicts you speak of. is he doing anything or any of these activities he's engaging in illegal and would actually call for legal action? because as it relates to the american people, they seem to be saying, or at least if you look at the electoral college results, it's okay by me. >> i have always found it, you know, uncomfortable whenever you take an election result and people take every slice and say, the american people say that's okay. i don't think the american people got a very strong exploration of the conflicts that trump faces. everybody heard about, you know, hillary clinton's foundation. nobody ever really heard anything much, you know, yeah, i was banging the drum, but nobody

really heard much about the conflicts. you know, in terms of legal problems, they're huge. i mean, again, let's focus on the philippines because they're the easiest to understand. his business partner, now his kids' business partner, is the special representative from the president of the philippines to the united states. the person who will be meeting with donald trump is his childrens' business partner. he is writing checks to the children while representing the philippines in the united states. that's a direct violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution. >> kurt eichenwald, i ask you to keep beating that drum. great reporting, great piece. nice work, kurt. >> thank you very much. >> kurt eichenwald. >> now we have to take a brick. before we do, i want to go back for this for one moment. guess who walked into trump

tower? the one and only kanye west. cal perry is outside trump tower. no time for daily intelligence briefings. no time for a press conference to dig into donald trump's business plans and answer questions. but president-elect trump, he has time for yeezy? >> yes, so i was hoping you weren't going to ask me anything about kanye west specifically. it's not my area of expertise. kanye west is here, and it was just confirmed to the media by hope hicks that donald trump is meeting with kanye west. there were any number of reasons he could have been here, but he is meeting with the president-elect. now, i can tell you, kanye west has been a donor for the democratic national committee. he donated twice, once $1,000, once $15,000. he was supposedly a hillary clinton supporter. but in 2015, while accepting an award, he shocked his fans and said he didn't vote, but that if he had, he would have voted for donald trump. here he is today, at trump tower,s we' we're going to ask more information on whey he's

there. >> extraordinary. cal perry, i love -- well, i'm not a kanye west expert, i like that, that was good. cal perry joining us outside trump tower where donald trump himself is meeting with kanye west. >> coming up, there jury is scheduled to begin deliberations today in the incredible murder story for hire. did this woman hire a hitman to kill her husband? then pretend to cry when police lied and said he was killed? and why is this woman literally being dragged off a plane? do you see that? by her hands, dragged down the aisle. the story behind this incredible video is next. who took that video? ♪

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welcome back. you're watching msnbc. i'm stephanie ruhle. today a jury is set to begin deliberations in the case of a woman accused of hiring a hitman to murder her husband. you may remember this story. police claim to have a video of dalia dippolito talking to an undercover officer about hiring someone to murder her husband.

>> like 5,000 percent sure. >> i'm sorry to tell you, ma'am, he's been killed. >> no, no. >> also on video, police creating a fake crime scene and telling dippolito her husband was dead. dippolito was found guilty back in 2011 of solicitation to commit murder, but the conviction was later reversed on appeal. nbc's kerry sanders has been following this incredible story for us. kerry, what is the latest? >> well, stephanie, the prosecution has to complete its closing arguments. it's first the prosecution and then the defense, then the prosecution gets a little more time so they get the final word to the jury. there's a slight delay this morning, nothing more than a routine delay, but we expect the prosecution to finish their case shortly and then the jurors will be called what's charged. that means the judge will explain to them the rules of what they need to do and the six jurors will go back into a private room, elect a foreman,

and begin deliberating. >> well, the defense. what exactly are they arguing at this point on behalf of dippolito? >> well, they argue that these videos were not proper procedure for the police investigating a crime. that they were really produced in concert with the reality tv show "cops" and that this was all a little fabrication, a little bit of a theater, a little built bit of entrapment, and they believe the jury should focus on that. if they look at that, they will see there's a real problem with what the police were doing. the attorney who represents dalia dippolito had this to say. >> this is a serious matter, a woman who might lose her freedom, and we've got a police department who's predtory, who is manufacturing something that isn't there. >> so it's really up to the jury now to separate, as is always the case in a court, what are the facts that are important to the charges and what are the

other issues that are at play, and then they come back in this case, you know, it's beyond a reasonable doubt. so it could take the jury a few minutes or it could take days. there's really no way to predict a jury in a case like this, but certainly high drama because those videotapes are so, quite frankly, engaging. >> high drama. kerry sanders, that is one crazy story. >> i'm going to turn now to another crazy story. like we're on the crazy train this morning. an incident that took place on a plane in detroit on monday. a woman was dragged off a delta flight, literally, after airport officials say she didn't comply with boarding and baggage procedures. according to our nbc affiliate in detroit, passengers say the woman whisked past the gate agent, didn't show i.d. or a ticket and walked on the plane, demanding overhead space. police officers asked her to leave the plane repeatedly, but she wouldn't. that's when she was dragged down the aisle. you can see her laying there, removed from the flight, and then arrested. i mean, this is amazing.

i know airports are stressful, getting on and off the plane, trying to fit your bag in the overhead before they tell you, sorry, no room. you have to check it, but this, this is a whole other level. gosh. stressful times. >> all right, coming up, a lot of focus has been put on rex tillerson's close ties to russia, but could his own business ties prevent a bigger hurdle in his confirmation? we'll find out when we come back. ♪ see ya next year. this season, start a new tradition. experience the power of infiniti now, with leases starting at $319 a month. infiniti. empower the drive. and you're talking to youro doctor about your medication... this is humira.

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welcome back. you're watching msnbc. we're talking rex tillerson. his nomination this morning prompting bipartisan concerns about his close ties to russia and vladimir putin but who is this long time exxonmobil man who will represent the u.s. around the world? joining me now is msnbc's ali velshi and nbc foreign correspondent ayman mohyeldin. rex tillerson has only had one employer since leaving school, exxon, exxon, exxon.

woven into who this man is and extraordinary experience dealing with foreign government. >> was also the ability that rex tillerson had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships in during many different administrations, so obviously, he's very good at being a diplomat. >> very good at being a diplomat, but is he? what he was doing before is dealing with vladimir putin, you'd like to make money, we'd like to make money. let's go to the arctic, the gulf of mexico. >> ceo have great relationships in the world. that's nonsense what reince priebus is saying. it is fair to say rex tillerson's long career had been good for exxonmobil shareholders. there is no complaint about him as a ceo. there are some things that he has done that have been specifically counter to u.s. foreign policy deals with the kurds that he's made, a deal

with russia, going up against u.s. sanctions in russia for invading ukraine but the bottom line is as a businessman, he's done a different deal. >> different motivations. >> right. >> ayman, when you look at this and think about the fact, yuan receive unicef say 100 children are trapped under rubble in aleppo and we're complimenting his relationship with russia, do we have our head around where russia's allies are? what russia does and how different that is for a businessman and an actual diplomat to be interfacing with? >> i think ali said it appropriately saying when you're the head of a major corporation, you answer to your shareholders and the performance of the company. the secretary of state, the chief diplomat, you have to take into consideration values and that means you're going to look at the reports coming out of

syria that hundreds of children, thousands of people are dying, starving, entrapped, what have you, and your calculation is going to be different than when you're answering to shareholders and a bottom line report. that's going to pose a challenge for not just rex tillerson, but everybody who serves in the trump administration including the president himself. when he's presented, if he's presented with these reports from the intelligence community that, hey, this is the dire situation on the ground. what are you going to do about it? he's going to have to make that calculation. now, there is an argument to be made that having that personal relationship allows him to pick up the phone and say to vladimir putin saying, we can't tolerate this anymore. we've got to find a way. this is not what we want. this is something kind of the criticism levelled against the obama administration, that the personal relationships have not been as strong as they could. where sometimes personal relations make a difference in diplomacy whether it's the russian president. >> this outgoing obama administration, kerry's really strong relationship with suri

was instrumental in the iran deal. >> i've got to stop. take you to trump tower. donald trump and kanye west. >> we've been friends for a long time. >> how long? >> life. >> kanye, are you considering running? >> no comment about meeting your president-elect of the united states? nothing to say? >> i just wanted to take a picture right now. >> you take care of yourself. i'll see you soon. >> that is a first. so again, no time for press conferences, no time to talk about what's happening in syria, but time for a photo op and a hug it out with yeezy.

we have to move on because that is crazy town. we have to go to break. i need a breather after that. okay. thank you both. >> we'll be here. >> thank you so much. an insider's look at donald trump's controversial pick for secretary of state from somebody who's known rex tillerson for years working alongside him. can the ceo become a diplomat? andrea mitchell talks exclusively to nancy pelosi about the russian hacking investigation and future of the party. (vo) pro plan bright mind

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po post" for 11, excuse me, $18 million, apparently claims the 93-year-old gave tens of millions to various other mistresses while with him. sells cnbc. holens complains it's a work of fiction. i'll tell you, this is just crazy. it is crazy day here in the world of news. that wraps me up for the hour, i'm stephanie ruhle, you can find me anytime on twitter. ali velshi is back. hey, there. kanye west at trump tower and then this. >> millions of dollars to mistresses. a whole world. >> there's actually some news going on today, thank you so much. right now on msnbc live. secretary in waiting. donald trump officially taps exxonmobil oil chief rex tillerson for secretary of state. will the oil mogul make it past a bitter confirmation battle on capitol hill? ra racist rant.

jurors hear dylann roof's disturbing diatribe read aloud. could rack the case with powerful testimony. a woman's life spared as fellow church members in cold blood. inside aleppo's frnt lines where one girl's twitter feed has been a realtime stream of her struggle to stay alive. the latest on the syrian city but let's begin with the man picked to be the nation's top diplomat on a confirmation collision course. preparing for the first battle with the trump administration, even some republicans are pumping the brakes on this man, rex tillerson's nomination. the problem is the long time oil man's connection to russia. some see with the greatest adversaries as too close for comfort. the president-elect vigorously defending his choice this morning via twitter and